Beam Extraction High Voltage Control Method and Device for Medical Heavy Ion Accelerator

Abstract

The present invention provides a beam extraction high-voltage control method and device for a medical heavy-ion accelerator, relating to the technical fields of particle accelerators and signal processing. The method includes: storing the extraction high-voltage parameters of all energies through a database; using a waveform combination server to read the extraction high-voltage parameters and generate a corresponding parameter file; using an event interpreter to receive the parameter file and the trigger event signal distributed by a synchronous trigger system, and generating a high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger event signal; and a high-voltage power supply controller performing pulse control on the high-voltage power supply loaded at both ends of an electrostatic deflection plate according to the high-voltage control instruction. By using the self-developed event interpreter, the present invention can receive the parameter file from the waveform combination server and the trigger event signal from the synchronous trigger system, automatically generate a control instruction after parsing the event, and send it to the high-voltage power supply controller, thereby realizing the pulse control of the high-voltage power supply.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical fields of particle accelerators and signal processing, and particularly relates to a beam extraction high-voltage control method and device for a medical heavy-ion accelerator. Background Art

[0002] A medical heavy-ion accelerator is a key system of a medical heavy-ion therapy device. The object of accelerator control is charged particles that run at a high speed close to the speed of light in a vacuum pipe. The charged particles in a magnetic field will be affected by the electromagnetic force and fly in the vacuum pipe. A medical heavy-ion accelerator generally consists of an injector composed of a linear accelerator or a cyclotron, a synchrotron, a beam transmission line, and a treatment room. After the beam is accelerated to a specified energy by the synchrotron, the beam is extracted through a beam extraction system. In the beam extraction system, the extraction of the beam is controlled by controlling the voltage between the electrostatic deflection plates at the extraction port of the synchrotron ring, and the control of the voltage between the electrostatic deflection plates is achieved by controlling the high voltage applied across the plates.

[0003] In a medical heavy-ion accelerator, the synchrotron operates in a pulse mode, and each pulse provides a beam of one energy. Since the tumor target area usually has a certain thickness, the tumor target area is generally divided into layers and irradiated layer by layer, that is, multiple Bragg peaks are superimposed in the target area. During a single treatment process, multiple energies need to be continuously output without interruption, which requires the high-voltage power supply to be able to continuously output waveforms of multiple energies in a short time by receiving trigger signals. This fast-cycle pulse operation mode places higher requirements on the performance of the high-voltage power supply and also poses greater challenges to the high-voltage power supply control system. Therefore, the control of the high-voltage power supply directly affects whether the beam of the synchrotron can be successfully extracted, and thus affects heavy-ion therapy. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a beam extraction high-voltage control method and device for a medical heavy-ion accelerator.

[0005] On the one hand, the present invention provides a beam extraction high-voltage control method for a medical heavy-ion accelerator, including:

[0006] Storing the extraction high-voltage parameters of all energies in a database;

[0007] Using a waveform combination server to read the extraction high-voltage parameters and generate a corresponding parameter file;

[0008] Using a case interpreter to receive the parameter file and the trigger case signal distributed by the synchronous trigger system, and generating a high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger case signal;

[0009] The high-voltage power supply controller performs pulse control on the high-voltage power supply applied across the electrostatic deflection plates according to the high-voltage control instruction.

[0010] On the other hand, the present invention provides a beam extraction high-voltage control device for a medical heavy ion accelerator, comprising:

[0011] A database for storing the extraction high-voltage parameters for all energies;

[0012] A waveform combination server for reading the extraction high-voltage parameters and generating a corresponding parameter file;

[0013] An event interpreter for receiving the parameter file and the trigger event signal distributed by the synchronous trigger system, and generating a high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger event signal;

[0014] A high-voltage power supply controller for performing pulse control on the high-voltage power supply applied across the electrostatic deflection plates according to the high-voltage control instruction.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beam extraction high-voltage control method and device for a medical heavy ion accelerator provided by the present invention have at least the following beneficial effects:

[0016] (1) By using the self-developed event interpreter, it can receive the parameter file from the waveform combination server and the trigger event signal from the synchronous trigger system. After parsing the event, it automatically generates a control instruction compliant with the protocol of the high-voltage power supply controller and sends it to the high-voltage power supply controller, thereby realizing the pulse control of the high-voltage power supply;

[0017] (2) By using the event interpreter, the feedback information of the high-voltage power supply can be encapsulated into a pulse power supply control protocol command and sent to the accelerator central monitoring system, so as to realize the monitoring of the high-voltage power supply on the central monitoring system interface;

[0018] (3) By using the database to store the parameter values of the extraction high-voltage for all energies, it avoids unnecessary errors caused by manual input of different energy parameters and ensures the accuracy of the parameters;

[0019] (4) By using the digital event interpreter network interface to perform real-time control on the high-voltage power supply controller, it avoids the problem of low control accuracy caused by analog control. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Through the following description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 Schematically shows the architecture diagram of the beam extraction high-voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 Schematically shows a flowchart of a beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 Schematically shows a flowchart of the processing procedure after an event interpreter receives a trigger event signal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 Schematically shows a flowchart of the monitoring procedure of an accelerator central monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 Schematically shows a structural block diagram of a beam extraction high voltage control device for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer and more understandable, the following further describes the present invention in detail with reference to specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] The terms used herein are merely for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The terms "including", "comprising", etc. used herein indicate the presence of the described features, steps, operations and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations or components.

[0028] All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the meanings commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, unless otherwise defined. It should be noted that the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the context of this specification and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly rigid manner.

[0029] Figure 1 Schematically shows an architecture diagram of a beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 Schematically shows a flowchart of a beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Combined Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to this embodiment may include operation S210 to operation S240.

[0031] In operation S210, the extraction high-voltage parameters of all energies are stored in a database.

[0032] In operation S220, a waveform combination server is used to read the extraction high-voltage parameters and generate a corresponding parameter file.

[0033] In operation S230, an event interpreter is used to receive the parameter file and the trigger event signal distributed by the synchronous trigger system, and generate a high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger event signal.

[0034] In operation S240, according to the high-voltage control instruction, the high-voltage power supply controller performs pulse control on the high-voltage power supply applied across the electrostatic deflection plates.

[0035] Through the above embodiments, in the present invention, the high-voltage parameters of all energies are stored in a database, and a self-developed event interpreter is used to receive the parameter file generated by the waveform combination server and the trigger event signal from the synchronous trigger system, automatically generate a high-voltage power supply control instruction after parsing the event, and send it to the high-voltage power supply controller, thereby realizing the pulse control of the high-voltage power supply.

[0036] It should be noted that the operations of using the event interpreter to receive the parameter file from operation S210 to operation S230 are all preparatory work before patient treatment, while the subsequent part of operation S230 to operation S240 are operations during patient treatment.

[0037] In the embodiment of the present invention, the hardware framework of the event interpreter adopts an FPGA embedded with an ARM architecture to implement functions such as receiving and transmitting event trigger signals, receiving parameter files, and network communication.

[0038] In the embodiment of the present invention, the trigger event signal can be, for example, a 32-bit event signal. On this basis, the operation of using the event interpreter in operation S230 to receive the trigger event signal distributed by the synchronous trigger system specifically includes:

[0039] In response to the beam current application instruction sent by the treatment terminal, the synchronous trigger system drives the event output board to output a corresponding 32-bit event signal through the internal control program, where the 32-bit event signal represents the energy required for the current treatment and the treatment terminal;

[0040] The synchronous trigger system distributes the 32-bit event signal to the event interpreter step by step through the event transmission system.

[0041] Among them, the trigger event signal includes an event function code and a waveform number. The event function code is used to characterize the function of replacing the voltage waveform or synchronously outputting the voltage waveform, and the waveform number is used to characterize different energies. When the event interpreter receives the trigger event signal, it can determine whether to replace the voltage waveform or synchronously output the voltage waveform through the event function code in the trigger event signal.

[0042] Specifically, taking the event interpreter for the extraction high-voltage control of a synchrotron as an example, that is, the extraction high-voltage parameters for all energies can include, for example, the extraction high-voltage parameters of the energies of all the beams accelerated by the synchrotron. On this basis, within one operating cycle, the event interpreter, for example, needs to receive two trigger event signals: C05A20XX and C00500XX. Among them, the trigger event signal C05A20XX is used to replace the voltage waveform, and the last byte is the waveform number; the trigger event signal C00500XX is used to synchronously output the voltage waveform, and the last byte is also the waveform number. For the start time points and start events of various devices in the synchrotron, according to the set order and time interval, the trigger event signal is periodically distributed to the event interpreter and other devices that need to be started synchronously, so that the devices are started synchronously.

[0043] In the embodiment of the present invention, the waveform combination server generates a parameter file according to the specified protocol format. Among them, the parameter file is configured with the event types to be responded to, different energy waveform numbers and their corresponding high-voltage values. The event types to be responded to include the event of replacing the voltage waveform and the event of outputting the voltage waveform. Among them, different energies are characterized by waveform numbers. For example, there are a total of 256 energies, and the waveform numbers can be set to values from 0 to 255.

[0044] Exemplarily, Table 1 shows the form and meaning of the parameter file in the waveform combination server.

[0045] Table 1

[0046] Serial number Number of bytes Content Data meaning 1 4 FFH FFH 00H 00H Command start frame 2 4 Not fixed Total data length 3 4 Not fixed Example data length 4 4 Not fixed Example data 1 5 4 Not fixed Delay parameter 1 6 4 Not fixed Example data 2 7 4 Not fixed Delay parameter 2 8 4 Not fixed Pulse width parameter 9 4 Not fixed Waveform length 10 4 Not fixed Number of waveforms 11 4 1 Waveform type 12 4 Not fixed Waveform number 13 4 4 Length of a single waveform 14 4 Not fixed Waveform data 15 4*n Loop from 12 to 14 Waveform data 16 4 00H 00H FFH FFH Command end frame

[0047] Then, the waveform combination server sends the parameter file to the event interpreter for storage.

[0048] When performing patient treatment, the treatment terminal sends a beam request instruction to the server of the synchronous trigger system. After the control program running on the server receives the beam request instruction, it drives the event output board to output a string of 32-bit event signals corresponding to the energy and the treatment terminal, and distributes the signal to the event interpreter step by step through the event transmission system.

[0049] Figure 3 Schematically shows a flowchart of the processing procedure after the event interpreter according to the embodiment of the present invention receives the trigger event signal.

[0050] AsFigure 3 As shown in Figure 3 , after parsing the trigger event signal in the above operation S230 to generate a high-voltage control instruction, it may include: when the event interpreter determines that the event function code in the trigger event signal matches the event type to be responded in the parameter file, a high-voltage control instruction corresponding to the function code is generated.

[0051] Through the above embodiments, when the event interpreter receives a trigger event signal, it can determine whether to change the voltage waveform or synchronously output the voltage waveform through the event function code in the trigger event signal. If the event function code matches the event type to be responded in the parameter file, the operation corresponding to the function code is executed according to the event function code.

[0052] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 , the operation S230 in the above operation S230 to generate a high-voltage control instruction corresponding to the function code further includes:

[0053] The event interpreter continues to parse the waveform number in the trigger event signal and searches for the high-voltage value corresponding to the waveform number in the parameter file;

[0054] When it is determined that there is a high-voltage value corresponding to the waveform number in the parameter file, the event interpreter converts the high-voltage value into a high-voltage control instruction that conforms to the high-voltage power supply control protocol.

[0055] Specifically, when the event interpreter receives a trigger event signal, it first parses the event function code in the trigger event signal, then compares it with the event type to be responded in the parameter file. When the two match, the event interpreter then parses the waveform number in the trigger event signal, and reads the high-voltage value corresponding to the waveform number in the parameter file according to the parsed waveform number. Then, the ARM application program in the event interpreter can generate a high-voltage control instruction that conforms to the high-voltage power supply control protocol according to the high-voltage value, and the event interpreter sends the high-voltage control instruction to the high-voltage power supply controller, and the high-voltage power supply outputs high voltage, finally controlling the voltage between the electrostatic deflection plates.

[0056] In addition, the accelerator subsystem is an important part of the medical heavy ion accelerator, and the accelerator central monitoring system can realize real-time monitoring and control of the accelerator subsystem equipment. In the embodiments of the present invention, after pulse control of the high-voltage power supply loaded at both ends of the electrostatic deflection plate, the method further includes:

[0057] The event interpreter converts the high-voltage power supply control protocol into a pulse power supply control protocol and sends it to the accelerator central monitoring system for the accelerator central monitoring system to monitor the high-voltage power supply.

[0058] Through the above embodiments, the accelerator central monitoring system can communicate with the event interpreter through the pulse power supply control protocol to obtain the currently output high voltage and output current of the high-voltage power supply, thereby realizing the monitoring of the high-voltage power supply.

[0059] Figure 4 Schematically shows a flowchart of the monitoring process of the accelerator central monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0060] As Figure 4 shown, the accelerator central monitoring system monitors the high-voltage power supply, which may specifically include operations S410 to S450.

[0061] In operation S410, the accelerator central monitoring system sends a query instruction to the event interpreter.

[0062] In operation S420, the event interpreter receives the query instruction, converts it into a high-voltage power supply control protocol instruction, and forwards the high-voltage power supply control protocol instruction to the high-voltage power supply controller.

[0063] In operation S430, the high-voltage power supply controller receives the high-voltage power supply control protocol instruction and sends corresponding response information to the event interpreter.

[0064] In operation S440, the event interpreter forwards the response information to the accelerator central monitoring system.

[0065] In operation S450, the accelerator central monitoring system parses the response information and performs status display.

[0066] Through the above embodiments, the event interpreter can encapsulate the feedback information of the high-voltage power supply into a pulse power supply control protocol command and send it to the accelerator central monitoring system, so as to realize the monitoring of the high-voltage power supply on the accelerator central monitoring system interface.

[0067] Based on the above method, the present invention also provides a beam extraction high-voltage control device for a medical heavy ion accelerator. The following will be combined with Figure 5 to describe this device in detail.

[0068] Figure 5 Schematically shows a structural block diagram of a beam extraction high-voltage control device for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0069] As Figure 5 shown, the beam extraction high-voltage control device 500 for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to this embodiment includes a database 510, a waveform combination server 520, an event interpreter 530, and a high-voltage power supply controller 540.

[0070] The database 510 is used to store the extraction high-voltage parameters of all energies.

[0071] The waveform combination server 520 is used to read the extraction high-voltage parameters and generate corresponding parameter files.

[0072] An event interpreter 530 for receiving the parameter file and a trigger event signal distributed by a synchronization trigger system, and generating a high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger event signal.

[0073] A high-voltage power supply controller 540 for pulse-controlling a high-voltage power supply loaded across two ends of an electrostatic deflection plate according to the high-voltage control instruction.

[0074] It should be noted that the embodiments of the device part are correspondingly similar to those of the method part, and the achieved technical effects are also correspondingly similar. For specific details, please refer to the method embodiment part above and will not be elaborated here.

[0075] According to an embodiment of the present invention, any plurality of the database 510, the waveform combination server 520, the event interpreter 530, and the high-voltage power supply controller 540 may be combined and implemented in one module, or any one of the modules may be split into multiple modules. Alternatively, at least part of the functions of one or more of these modules may be combined with at least part of the functions of other modules and implemented in one module. According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the database 510, the waveform combination server 520, the event interpreter 530, and the high-voltage power supply controller 540 may be at least partially implemented as a hardware circuit, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic array (PLA), a system on chip, a system on substrate, a system on package, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other reasonable way of integrating or packaging circuits, etc., implemented by hardware or firmware, or implemented in any one of the three implementation manners of software, hardware, and firmware, or in any appropriate combination of several of them. Alternatively, at least one of the database 510, the waveform combination server 520, the event interpreter 530, and the high-voltage power supply controller 540 may be at least partially implemented as a computer program module, and when the computer program module runs, it can execute the corresponding functions.

[0076] Some block diagrams and / or flowcharts are shown in the drawings. It should be understood that some blocks or combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing devices, so that when executed by the processor, these instructions can create a device for implementing the functions / operations illustrated in these block diagrams and / or flowcharts.

[0077] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Therefore, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined. In addition, the words "a" or "an" before an element do not exclude the existence of a plurality of such elements.

[0078] The specific embodiments described above further elaborate on the object, technical solution, and beneficial effects of the present invention. It should be understood that the above are only specific embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A beam extraction high-voltage control method for a medical heavy-ion accelerator, characterized in that, Including: Storing the extraction high-voltage parameters of all energies in a database; Using a waveform combination server to read the extraction high-voltage parameters and generate a corresponding parameter file, where the parameter file is configured with case types to be responded to, different energy waveform numbers and their corresponding high-voltage values, and the case types to be responded to include a voltage waveform replacement case and an output voltage waveform case; Using a case interpreter to receive the parameter file and a trigger case signal distributed by a synchronous trigger system, and generating a high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger case signal. The trigger case signal includes a case function code and a waveform number. The case function code is used to represent the function of replacing the voltage waveform or synchronously outputting the voltage waveform, and the waveform number is used to represent different energies; The high-voltage power supply controller performs pulse control on the high-voltage power supply loaded at both ends of the electrostatic deflection plate according to the high-voltage control instruction; Among them, generating the high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger case signal specifically includes: When the case interpreter determines that the case function code in the trigger case signal matches the case type to be responded to in the parameter file, it continues to parse the waveform number in the trigger case signal and searches for the high-voltage value corresponding to the waveform number in the parameter file; When it is determined that there is a high-voltage value corresponding to the waveform number in the parameter file, converting the high-voltage value into a high-voltage control instruction that conforms to the high-voltage power supply control protocol.

2. The beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to claim 1, wherein, The hardware framework of the case interpreter adopts an FPGA with an embedded ARM architecture.

3. The beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to claim 1, characterized in that The trigger case signal is a 32-bit case signal. The use of the case interpreter to receive the trigger case signal distributed by the synchronous trigger system specifically includes: In response to a beam current application instruction sent by a treatment terminal, the synchronous trigger system drives a case output board to output a corresponding 32-bit case signal through an internal control program, where the 32-bit case signal represents the energy required for the current treatment and the treatment terminal; The synchronous trigger system distributes the 32-bit case signal to the case interpreter step by step through a case transmission system.

4. The beam extraction high-voltage control method for a medical heavy-ion accelerator according to claim 1, wherein The extraction high-voltage parameters of all energies include the extraction high-voltage parameters of the energies of all beam currents accelerated by a synchrotron.

5. The beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The waveform combination server generates the parameter file according to a specified protocol format.

6. The beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, After performing pulse control on the high-voltage power supply loaded at both ends of the electrostatic deflection plate, the method further includes: The case interpreter converts the high-voltage power supply control protocol into a pulse power supply control protocol and sends it to an accelerator central monitoring system so that the accelerator central monitoring system can monitor the high-voltage power supply.

7. The beam extraction high voltage control method for a medical heavy ion accelerator according to claim 6, characterized in that, The accelerator central monitoring system monitors the high-voltage power supply, specifically including: The accelerator central monitoring system sends a query instruction to the case interpreter; The case interpreter receives the query instruction and converts it into a high-voltage power supply control protocol instruction, and forwards the high-voltage power supply control protocol instruction to the high-voltage power supply controller; The high-voltage power supply controller receives the high-voltage power supply control protocol instruction and sends corresponding response information to the case interpreter; The example interpreter forwards the response information to the accelerator central monitoring system; The accelerator central monitoring system analyzes the response information and performs status display.

8. A beam extraction high-voltage control device for a medical heavy-ion accelerator, characterized in that, It includes: A database for storing the extraction high-voltage parameters of all energies; A waveform combination server for reading the extraction high-voltage parameters and generating a corresponding parameter file. The parameter file is configured with the to-be-responded example types, different energy waveform numbers and their corresponding high-voltage values. The to-be-responded example types include the example of replacing the voltage waveform and the example of outputting the voltage waveform; An example interpreter for receiving the parameter file and the trigger example signal distributed by the synchronous trigger system, and generating a high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger example signal. The trigger example signal includes an example function code and a waveform number. The example function code is used to represent the function of replacing the voltage waveform or synchronously outputting the voltage waveform, and the waveform number is used to represent different energies; A high-voltage power supply controller for pulse-controlling the high-voltage power supply loaded at both ends of the electrostatic deflection plate according to the high-voltage control instruction; Among them, generating a high-voltage control instruction after parsing the trigger example signal specifically includes: When the example interpreter determines that the example function code in the trigger example signal matches the to-be-responded example type in the parameter file, it continues to parse the waveform number in the trigger example signal and searches for the high-voltage value corresponding to the waveform number in the parameter file; When it is determined that there is a high-voltage value corresponding to the waveform number in the parameter file, the high-voltage value is converted into a high-voltage control instruction that conforms to the high-voltage power supply control protocol.

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